The main objectives of the EEP are: 

  • To cultivate a sense of intercultural understanding through immersion in a different cultural environment;

  • To develop a sense camaraderie among students;

  • To improve students’ competence in English language through
    communication, collaboration and interaction with peers from different countries
    DSI’s EEP can be broadly divided into two parts, namely the Local Experiential Programme (LEP) and Overseas Experiential Programme (OEP).
    Students in Grade 7 usually go for an LEP, which is a learning journey to better understand their country’s history. Along the way, they write their reflections in both Chinese and English and share them on the internet with their family and friends. This LEP also helps students to bond as a class and foster a good relationship with their class teachers.


When they reach Grade 8, they are given the opportunity to participate in an OEP to either Singapore or Australia. These OEPs give an opportunity to students to use the English Language for communication, collaboration and social interaction with their peers from other countries. 

In Grade 9, students will go on an LEP to understand how China solves some of its major problems. One such problem-solving trip gave students an opportunity to understand how the Three Gorges dam was built and more importantly, know the social, economic, and engineering problems faced by the authorities during the process. 

When the students reach Grade 10, it is important for them to start planning for their overseas university education. Hence EEP may take the form of University Experiential Programme (UEP) when students are ready to consider university options. 

  

Before the DSI students embark on their overseas university education after Grade 12, it is also important for them to understand the life of minority groups in rural areas in China itself. Thus another LEP, this time in the form of community service, is planned for them to serve the poor and the less fortunate in the rural parts of Guizhou, Yunnan or Guangxi where many indigenous ethnic minority groups are based. 

 

LEP Learning Objectives

 

Each LEP has the following learning objectives:

 

·         To understand the unique characteristics of each region or province, including the local people, their culture and their heritage;

·         To engage in meaningful interactions with students in the local schools;

·         To develop compassion for the local community through service learning, where opportunity arises;

·         To provide opportunities for students to develop personal competence, social-emotional competence, problem-solving skills and collaboration skills.


Overseas Education Programme (OEP)

 

OEP is designed to help our students discover the global diversity and develop a genuine understanding of the people, the culture and the heritage outside the country.

 

Each year, all students from Grade 7 to Grade 9 will participate in the OEP. By the end of Grade 9, it is hoped that they would have visited at least 4 different countries of different cultures and/or different stages of development.

 

Why OEP?

 

As the world becomes more interconnected and integrated, international mobility has increased rapidly. When our students enter their adulthood, they will be working with people from different nationalities of diverse cultures. It is important that our students develop their personal and social competencies as well as an intercultural understanding in order to successfully navigate their adult world.

 

OEP Learning Objectives

 

Each OEP has the following learning objectives:

 

·         To increase students’ independence, maturity, confidence and self-awareness;

·         To increase students’ competence in English language communication, social-interaction and collaboration skills;

·         To generate greater interest in global and international issues;

·         To cultivate a sense of mutual understanding through immersion in a multi-culturally diversified environment;

·         To develop awareness of future study and career opportunities.

 

It is also hoped that through OEP, students will also gain a deeper understanding of their own cultures as distinct from others.